While the choice to start Donnarumma against Atlético Madrid (1-2) did not really pay off with a hand fault from the Italian at the last second, Luis Enrique relaunched the competition among the goalkeepers this Friday in starting Matvey Safonov on Friday evening against Toulouse. And the Russian still kept his goal clean.
Without real competition last season despite matches attributed to Keylor Navas or Arnau Tenas on a regular basis, Gianluigi Donnarumma is discovering a very different atmosphere this season, probably also because the Italian is far from his best level. In four Champions League matches, PSG has already lost twice and it is an understatement to say that the Italian played an important role in the defeats at Arsenal (0-2) then against Atlético Madrid (1-2). His faulty hand at the last second was costly and inevitably revived the debate concerning his status.
Since last season, PSG had noted the frankly less successful performances of the Italian goalkeeper in the Champions League, hence the arrival of Matvey Safonov for €15M, plus €5M bonus. After neutral starts against Reims (1-1), Rennes (3-1) or Girona (1-0), the Russian logically found his place on the bench. But Luis Enrique started him again for PSG/Lens (1-0), just before Atlético, then PSG/Toulouse (3-0) this Friday four days from Bayern/PSG. And the impression left was much more positive, notably because he did not concede any goals.
Luis Enrique vague on his choice Safonov
When explaining this choice, Luis Enrique generally… said nothing, except that he chose the Russian for tactical reasons, like against Lens (1-0). Faced with teams who do not hesitate to press very high on the pitch like Racing and Toulouse, the Parisian coach's number 1 choice would therefore be Safonov rather than Donnarumma. If he follows the same logic in the Champions League, the former Krasnodar player can then honestly expect to start the game in Munich on Tuesday evening.
But nothing is that simple in the management of goalkeepers, a position apart, and the PSG coach likes to keep his players under constant pressure, even in the goal where the usual formula consists rather of giving the most possible peace of mind for the holder. While competition for this position has rarely borne fruit in Paris, see the Sirigu/Trapp, Trapp/Areola, Buffon/Areola or Navas/Donnarumma episodes, this does indeed seem to be the path followed by the coach Parisian.
Rare competition for this position, but which is not due to chance
Arriving from Russia this summer, Safonov is not at all afraid of this competition, quite the contrary, and the Russian, according to Le Parisien, “was particularly impressed by his ability to adapt to his new environment”. His matches against Lens and Toulouse also go in the direction of a goalkeeper now well adapted to Paris, even if his kicking game is hardly more accomplished than that of Donnarumma. But with three clean sheets in only five matches played, he presents statistics far superior to Donnarumma who only presents two in… eleven matches.
“This management does more harm than good”
Among the specialists of the position, this management of Luis Enrique leaves doubtful since most advocate always using the same goalkeeper. Well-known goalkeeping coach, Christophe Lollichon explains in Le Parisien that“a goalkeeper needs rhythm, particularly in terms of involvement and the need to be in match condition. » A colleague currently working in L1 and remaining anonymous goes in the same direction: “A goalkeeper must be reassured, have a clear framework and a hierarchy. Even more so in Paris where the pressure is already strong […] This management does more harm than good. »
But they both agree on one point, “If these changes are more and more frequent, it’s because Luis Enrique has an idea in his head” et “that he has his reasons”. It now remains to be seen whether they will push him to make the same choice in the Champions League, where Donnarumma has never been called into question until now, as in Ligue 1 where his starting status only seems to depend on one thread.
